Donna Kane was enjoying a quiet Friday, staining the deck on a windy April afternoon outside her farmhouse, when suddenly, while standing on the ground, the earth beneath her collapsed, and she fell into an open space below.

Kane, who has lived on the Rolla, B.C., property just north of Dawson Creek for nearly 18 years, fell into what she learned was an old septic tank, full of icy water that, fortunately, was no longer contaminated with waste.

But the water was over her head in the six-by-12-by-seven-foot tank. She couldn't pull herself out, so she had to figure out a way to keep her head above water so she wouldn't drown.

[Donna Kane says she's lucky her husband was able to help her when the dry ground beneath her caved in, and she fell into an old septic tank.][Donna Kane says she's

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